Military game



Sept. 13, 193 w. R. WEAVER MILITARY- GAME Filed May 7. 1930 FIG. 3.

/-l/N 7'01? M441. TE)? P WEAVER retentea Sept. 13,1932

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eater warren? sans Application filed may 7, 1930, Serial No. QSQASO.

(GRAHTED UNDER rm ACT 03 MARCH 3, 1883, as AMENDED APRIL 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payments to me of any royalty thereon.

The invention relatesto games and in particular to chess, the object being to supplement the present chess game with means for employing aerial tactics in the simulated military operations. Briefly, it may be described as three dimensional chess or the game of chess with aerial Warfare added. As is well known, the ancient game of chess is primarily a war game, in which the pawns play the part of infantry, the castles or rooks the part of forts, the knights the part of cavalry, the bishops representing the ancient power of the church, the queen being given a powerful role while 29 the king remained, as head of the state, a piece to be protected, as a king lost meant a kingdom destroyed. All this was developed ages before the airplane was thought of, and its unceasing popularity testifies to the fact that its basic principles are sound, its primary mechanics simple and its playing full of interest. Today, in any game simulating warfare, air forces cannot be ignored. In developing this phase of the new chess, efiort has been made to keep the essentials of the game as simple as chess, sothat, while ofi'ering infinite possibilities for the expert, it will be sufficiently simple in the rules for the operation of its pieces to appeal to beginners.

" The precise nature of the improved game should he clearly understood when the following specific description has been read'in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the game board with the chess-men and aerial pieces in initialplaying position upon the respective planes.

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the i playing board in its preferred form;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a modified form of upper plane; and

Figure 4 is a similar view of a further modification.

The playing board The playing board may be described as one standard chess or checker board superimposed on another with suflicient space between the two planes thus formed for'the operation of game pieces on each level.

, Referring to the drawing, a convenient mode of construction is disclosed, wherein the upper plane 1 is supported by pillars 2 in its elevated position above plane 3, which forms the base of the complete board. Each plane has the conventional checkered design marked on it so as to be visible on its upper playing surface, and duplicates the other in arrangement and color of squares In order 55 that the lower plane may be properly illuminated and may be seen through the upper piane, it has been found desirable to con struct the upper plane of glass, or other transparent material. Those squares of the upper plane which are directly above the dark colored squares of the lower plane may be painted with the same color on its under surace. The remaining squares in their natural color will contrast sufiiciently with the painted squares and will transmit light to a desirable degree. This feature, though not necessary to the playing of the game, aids materially in keeping the situation on both planes constantly in mind. It also permits a quick and accurate check on the vertical registration of game pieces on both planes.

As is the case with. checkers or chess, the present game is adapted for play by two play- 5 ers, each having a set of game pieces corresponding in number but distinguished .by contrasting colors, and the game pieces are adapted for placing in predetermined positions upon the board by each player. 98

The game pieces are colored differently to correspond with the standard chess pieces below.

The arrangement of the set before lay is as follows; all chessmen are arranged as in the game of chess, which is as illustrated in the drawing. The aerial pieces occupy the back row at'each side of the upper plane and are arranged; bombers over rooks; pursuit over knights; attack over bishops; distant observation over the queen, and local observationover the king.

Movements of aerial pieces The game is played in both planes simultaneously, the players making one move at a time in turn, moving a piece on the upper or lower plane at their election. The movement of the chessmen on the lower board is exactly as in the game of chess, with one exception. While in their original position, pawns are considered as anti-aircraft artillery and menace the squares directly above them. Once moved, the assume their normal role of infantry. or convenience the standard rules for the game of chess, as quoted from the Chess Pla ers Text Book, are given hereinafter. ith the exception of the pawns in their initial role of anti-aircraft,

the chessmen below are impotent to control or affect the planes above.

Each aerial piece on the upper level has the same characteristic move as the chessman directly below him. Thus: the bomber piece moves in a straight line, backwards, forwards and laterally, but not diagonally, any number of open squares. The attack piece moves any number of free squares diagonally, which means it must remain on squares the color of that occupied at the start. of the game. The pursuit piece moves one square diagonally and one straight or vice-versa and hence is the only piece capable of jumping other pieces, his own or opponents. The distant observation piece moves in any' direction, backward, forward, sideways or diagonall'y any number of free squares at a move. The local observation piece can move in the same way as distant observation but one square at a time only.

It must be borne in mind that the object of the game is still that of the ancient game of chess, the checkmating of the opponents king. Hence all moves on the upper plane and all aerial strategy should be directed to that ultimate objectlve.

Rules for aerial play stroy (take) only airplanes. They can take any opposing plane except the two observation planes which are immune. The taking is done precisely as in chess, e. g. by moving onto the square occupied by an opponent. Pursuit airplanes are the only airplanes which can take (destroy) airplanes. Pursuit movements have no. effect on the lower board, other than the suppression of antiaircraft (pawns), explained below.

(b) Bombardment and attack airplanes can take no pieces on the upper level but can take and cause the removal of o posing pieces on the lower board. This is one by occupying the square directl above (hence of the same color) the piece ta en. The cannot take antiaircraft (pawn) unless t e individual piece is rendered ineffective by menace of friendly pursuit. That is, if one move of pursuit would lace the pursuit plane directly above t e (pawn) its fire is considered neutralized by pursuit fire and it can then be taken by bombardment or attack. Anti-aircraft (pawn) can only be taken in this manner from the front or side but can be taken from the rear without aid of pursuit.

If the opposing pursuit also has the square in question covered or protected, the result is the neutralizing of the two pursuit pieces for that square leaving the anti-aircraft pawn still effective and incapable of being taken.

Bombardment and attack may check the king by occupying the square directly above .him and consequently may assist in the Checkmate.

(c) The spaces above anti-aircraft (pawns) in original position are untenable by any opposing force and cannot be occupied, except in taking the pieces as above described.

(03) The two types of observation. can neither take nor be taken but can be used to block moves. They cannot block by occupy- The standard rules for chess anti-aircraft battery in-g positions directly above anti-aircraft pawns.

STANDARD CHESS RULES fill ahoard of sixty-four squares. The squares are colored alternately white and black. The men are thirty-two in number, one player having sixteen white and his adversary sixteen black men. f these sixteen men eight are pieces and eight Pawns on each 'slde.

The pieces are the King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, and Knight.

The board must be placed so that each player must have a white square at his right hand corner of the board.

The players draw by lot for move and choice of color though in all public chess tournaments it is the rule for the player who has the first move to play with the white men.

The pieces to the left of the white Queen are called the Queens Bishop, Queens Knight and Queen e Book; those to the right of the white Fling are the Kings Bishop, llings Knight and Kings Rook. The pieces to the right of the black Queen and left of the black King are simi arly named. The Kin "s The some The Book is the next most powerful piece.

He moves in a straight line, backwards, forwards and laterally, but not diagonally.

The Bishop The Bishop moves diagonally, but only on squares of its own color, e. g., the white Kings Bishop can never move on to a black square, nor the black Kings Bishop on to a white one. @n an unobstructed range the Bishop may be moved from a corner square to the opposite corner.

The Knight The Knight moves one square diagonally Knights and Roche are often stamped Wltll 0119 Square g a and alone of the a peculiar mark, to distinguish them from the Queens Knights and Books.

The Books are called Castles by drawing room players or novices.

The white Queen must always occupy a white s *uare, and the black Queen a black s uare, ervat Regina colorem. The white I. ing, on the contrary, must always occupy a black square and the black King a white one, the Kings and Queens respectively facing each other. The Bishops on each side are posted nearest to the Kings and Queens; next come the Knights, whilst the Rooks occupy the corner squares.

THE Prnons AND Trims MOVEMENTS The King The King moves only one square at a time p in any direction-backwards, forwards, laterally and diagonally. Dnce in the game, however, he has the privilege of moving two squares when castling. He cannot move on to a square next to the one occupied by the hostile King, for the Kings must always be separated from each other by an intervening square. Nor can the King move into check, i. e., on to any square which is commanded by a hostile piece or Pawn. He can, however, capture any unprotected piece or Pawn of the eneiqy on any square adjacent to his own in: any irection. When the King is placed in such a position that'he cannot avoid capture, he is checkmated and the game is lost.

The Queen The Queen was one of the weakest pieces until the commencement'of the sixteenth century, and her present move is not of older date than three and a half centuries. She is now the most powerful of all the pieces, and can be moved any number of squares in any other piece or Pawn, whether of his own or the opposing forces.

The Pawn pieces has the privilege of jumping over an-..

The Pawn moves forward one square at a time; but on his first move only he may be moved either one or two squares at the players option. If, however, he be move two squares, and a hostile Pawn commands the square over which he leaps, the hostile Pawn has the choice of taking him and intercepting him in his leap, as if he had only moved forward one square. This is called taking en passant. The Pawn captures diagonally and forwards only. @n reaching the eight square of any file on which he is advancing, he may be exchanged for a Queen, or any other piece his player may choose; or he may be refused promotion by his player and remain a Pawn, as before. In such a case he is called a dummy Pawn.

' THE Laws on Gents The following laws, laid down by the Committee of the British Chess Association in, 1862, have been enforced in all the chief In ternational Tournaments for the last twentysix years:

I. The Uhess Board" [1. The Uhcssmen If, at any time in the course of a game, it is found that the men were not properly placed, or that one or more of them were omitted at the be inning, the game in ques- 5 have been made during its absence, such tinlg, n

moves shall be retracted and the man restored.

If the players cannot agree as to the square on which it should be replaced, the game must be annulled.

111. The Right of M We and Ohoz'oe of Color The right of making the first move and (if either player require it) of choosing the color, which shall be retained throughout the sitmust be decided by lot. any series of ames between the same layers, at one sittln each shall have the first move alternately in all the games, whether won or drawn.

In an annulled ame, the player who had the first move in t at game shall move first in the next.

I V. Omnmenoing Out of Tum If a player make the first move in a game when it is not his turn to do so, the game must be annulled if the error has been noticed before both players have completed the fourth move.

After four moves on each side have been made the game must be played out as it stands.

V.'PZayi/ng Two Moves in Succession If, in the course of a game, a player move a man when it is not his turn to play, he must retract the said move, and, after his adversary.

has moved, must play the man wrongly moved, if it can be played legally.

VI. Touch and M one A player must never touch any ofthe men except when it is his turn to play, or except when he touches a man for the purpose of adjusting it; in which latter case he must, before touching it, say, I adjust, or words to that eflect.

A player who touches with his hand (ex cept acc dentally) one of his own men when it is his turn to lay, must move'it, if it can be legally moved unless, before touching it, he say I adjust, as above; and a player who touches one of his adversarys' men, under the same conditions, must take it if he can le ally do so.

f, in either case, the move cannot be legally made, the offender must move his Kingbut-in the event of the King having no legal move, there shall be no penalty.

If a player hold a man in his hand, undecided upon which square to play it, his adversary may require him to replace it until he has decided on its destination; that man, however, must be moved.

If a player, when it is his turn to play, touch with his hand (except accidentally or in castling) more than one of his own men, he must p ay any one of them, legally movable, that h1s opponent selects. v

'If, under the same circumstances, he touch two or more of the adversarys men, he must capture whichever of them his antagonist chooses, provided it can be le ally taken.

If it appen that none 0% the men so touched can be moved or captured, the offender must move his King; but if the King cannlqt be legally moved, there shall be no pena y.

VII. False mooes and illegal moves If a player make a false movethat is,

either by playing a man of his own to a square to which it cannot be legally moved, or by capturing an adverse man by a move which cannot be legally made he must, at the choice of-his opponent, and according to the case,

either move his own man legally, capture the man legally, or move any other man legally movable.

If, in the course of a game, an illegality be discovered (not involving a King being in check), and the move on which it was committed has been replied to, and not more than four moves on each side have been made subsequently, all these latter moves, including that on which the illegality was committed, must be retracted.

If, more than four moves on each side have been made, the game must be played out as it stands.

VI 1 I Okeck A player must audibly say check when he makes a move which puts the hostile King in check.

The mere announcement of check shall have no signification if check be not'actuall given. If check be given, but not announce and the adversary makes a move which obviates the check, the move must stand.

If check be given and announced, and the adversary neglects to obviate it, he shall not have the option of capturing'the checking piece or of covering, but must move his King out of check; but if the King has no legal move there shall be no penalty.

If, in the course of a game, it be discovered that a King has been left in check for one or more moves on either side, all the moves, subsequent to that on which the check was given must be retracted. Should these not be remembered the game must be annulled.

I X. Enforcing penalties A player is not bound to enforce a penalty. A penalty can only be enforced by a player before he has touched a man in reply.

Should he touch a man in reply in consequence of a false or illegal move of his opponent, or a false cry of check, he shall not be compelled to move that man, and his right to enforce a penalty shall remain.

When a King is moved as a penalty, it cannot castle on that move.

X. Uastling In castling, the player shall move King and Book simultaneously, or shall touch the King first. if he touch the Book first, he must not quit it before having touched the King; or

his opponent may claim the move of the Rock lit? - King, Bishop and Knight,

as a complete move.

When the odds of either Book or both Books are given, the player giving the odds shall be allowed to move his King as in castggingkand asv though the Books were on the oar King and two Bishops, King and two Knights,

iAgainst an equal or superior force, }Against King and Queen,

and in all analogous cases: and whenever one player, considers that his opponent can force the game, or that neither side can win it, he has the right of submitting the case to the umpire or bystanders, who shall decide whether it is one for the fifty-move counting. Should he not be mated within the fifty moves, he may claim that the game shall procoed.

(For example: A has King and Queen against Bs King and Rook. B claims to count fifty moves. At the forty-ninth move, A, by a blunder, loses-his Queen. B can claim that the game proceed, and A in his turn may claim the fifty-move counting.)

XII. Pawn taking in passing Should a player be left with no other move than to take a Pawn in passing, he shall be bound to play that move.

XIII. Quee'ning a Pawn When a Pawn has reached the eighth square, the player has the option of selecting a piece, except a- King, whether such piece has been previously lost or not, whose name and powers it shall then assume, or of deciding that it shall remain a Pawn.

XIV. Abandoning the game If a player abandon the game, discontinue his moves, voluntarily resign, willfully upset the board, or refuse to abide by these laws, or to submit to the decision of the umpire, he must be considered to have lost the game.

XV. The wnpire or bystanders The umpire shall have authority to decide any. question whatever that may arise in the course of a game, but must never interfere except when appealed to. He must always apply the laws as herein expressed, and neither assume the power of modifying them nor of deviating from them in particular cases, according to his own judgment. When a question is submitted to the umpire, or to bystanders, by both players, their decision shall be final and binding upon both players. The term bystander shall comprise any impartial player of eminence who can be appealed to, absent or present.

While it seems-preferable to construct the upper plane of the playing board of transparent material, such as glass or celluloid, it is possible that practical considerations may require the use of material other than such transparent plates. In Figure 3, a modified form of upper plane is suggested. in thls construction, the supporting lane for the aerial game pieces is afiorded y a lurality of closely spaced bars or rods 4 w ich extend between side members 5 of an enclosing frame. The dark squares may be marked on the bars by paintin appropriate sections in the manner indicated.

A further modification is disclosed in Figure 4, wherein the upper plane of the playing board is formed by a mesh 6 of wire or other suitable material stretched between frame members 7, The checkered design may be produced by painting the mesh as shown.

The modernized game of chess disclosed herein has been found to be practical and entertaining to a very high degree. The aerial features of the game are uncanny in their analogy to the actual tactics used in aerial warfare.

The underlying principle of the game is the play in three dimensions with pieces representing the various instrumentalities of warfare, or other competitive operations between opposing organizations of individuals. in order to be susceptible to incorporation in a game of this nature, the instrumentalities employed by each of the opposing sides must bear such relationship to each other that they customarily cooperate in attack against one or more objective instrumentalities on the other sides. When individual instrumen talities or groups of them are adapted to operate in different horizontal planes as is the case in modern warfare, the application to the three dimensional game is most appropriate. For instance, in warfare, the instrumentalities of the ground forces, such as artillery, antiaircraft, tanks, etc., operate on one plane, whereas aircraft are capable of operating in a second, elevated plane. Naval surface craft may be considered to operate on the same plane as the groundforces. On the other hand, submarines are capable of operating in athird, still lower plane. It should be apparent that modern warfare lends itself admirably to the formulation of three dimensional play in a game. In accordance with basic idea to provide any suitable means for movement of the distinct classes of game pieces in more than two dimensions. Furthermore, all of the game pieces may be formed so as to represent the various instrumentalities conventionally, or all may be in the form of actual models of these instrumentalities, if it'is desired to make the game more realistic. It is believed that many considerations will arise in practice which will make changes in thd present, illustrative embodiment advisable,

Iclaim:

1. In a game, a playing board comprising a plurality of supporting planes positioned one above another in spaced relation and bear ing checkered designs composed of squares of distinguishable visual characteristics designating the paths of movement and stations for movable game pieces, the squares of like visual characteristics of each plane being directlyin vertical registration with the corresponding squares of each other plane.

2. In a game, a playing board comprising a plurality of supporting planes positioned one above another in spaced relation and bearing designs on their upper surfaces designating the paths of movement and stations of movable game pieces, one of the planes being pervious' to light rays.

3. In a game, a playing board comprisin a plurality of supporting planes positione one above another in spaced relation and hearing designs on their upper surfaces designating the paths of movement and stations of movable game pieces, one of the planes havingtransparent areas.

4. In a game, a playing board comprising a plurality of'supporting planes positioned one above another in spaced relation and bearing designs on their upper surfaces designating the paths of movement and stations of movable game pieces, the uppermost plane being pervious to light rays.

5. A game apparatus comprising a playing board including a plurality of planes positioned one above another in spaced relation, each plane being marked with the usual chess- .board design on its upper playing surfacei corresponding squares of the design on a planes being in vertical registration, and game pieces constructed to be moved on the playing surfaces of all planes.

' 6. A game apparatus comprisin a playing board including a plurality of p anes positioned one above another in spaced relation, each plane being marked with the usual chessboard design on its upper playing surface, corresponding squares of the design on all planes being in vertical registration, and game pieces constructed to represent the various instrumentalities of competitive operations on different actual geographic p anes and adapted for movement on the playing surfaces of appropriate planes of the playing board.

7. In a game apparatus, the combination with a standard chess board, of an identical playing board mounted above and in spaced relation to the chess board.

8. In a game apparatus, the combination with a standard chess board and chessmen for playing movement thereon, of an identical playing board mounted above and in spaced relation to the chess board, and game pieces representing aircraft constructed for playing movement on the upper board. to simulate aerial operations in cooperation with the surface warfare simulated by the conventional chess play on the chess board.

9. "chess game comprising a pair of chess boards, means connecting said boards and supportin same in relatively upper and lower paralle planes with an intervening space therebetween, two corresponding but differently colored sets of chessmen movable upon the lower board and respectively including a predetermined number of independently movable pieces and pawns, and a plurality of auxiliary aerial pieces movable upon the upper board and corresponding in number and in initial playing position to the pieces on the lower board, each aerial piece being colored to correspond with and having the same characteristic move as the corresponding lower piece.

10. A game apparatus comprising duplicate game boards rigidly connected together and arranged one above the other to provide relative upper and lower vertically spaced playing surfaces, the upper one of which is of such construction and design that the lower one is visible therethrough.

11. A game apparatus comprising duplicate chess boards connected together in vertically spaced relation to provide upper and lower playing surfaces, the upper surface being composed of rods relatively spaced to enable the lower surface to be seen through the upper surface.

12. A game apparatus comprising dupli cate chess boards connected together 1n vertically spaced relation to provide upper and lower playing surfaces, the upper surface beingcomposed of an enclosing frame and a plurality of closely spaced rods extending between side members of the frame.

13. A game apparatus comprising duplicate chess boards connected together 1n vertically spaced relation to provlde upper and lower playing surfaces, the pla infg surface of the upper board being forum 0 wire mesh through which the lower surface is visible.

In testimony whereof I a my signature,

WALTER REED WEAVER 

